'Stronger opinion' on Khashoggi case next week: Trump

Washington, Nov 8 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said he will have a "stronger opinion" over the murder of a Saudi journalist next week.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday during a White House press conference that he was "forming a very strong opinion" over the death of Jamal Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, who has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, Xinhua reported.

"I'll have a much stronger opinion on that subject over the next week," Trump claimed.

He also noted that the White House was working "very closely" with the Congress, as well as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Following the disclosure of Khashoggi's death, the Saudi Public Prosecution conducted investigations and announced that 18 people were arrested over their alleged connections to the killing.

Turkish prosecutors requested in late October for the extradition of the suspects for trial in Turkey, while the Saudi side said they would be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia.

Turkish police and crime scene investigators have conducted searches in the Saudi consulate, the residence of the Saudi consul general as well as a forest in Istanbul, trying to find the body of Khashoggi.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced weeks ago that the US was revoking visas of 21 Saudi officials who were suspected of involvement in the case, the first concrete step of punishment taken by the Trump administration after the disclosure of Khashoggi's death.